Love, Prejudice and War
by KissMyGrits
Summary: Among the new Decepticons added to the war on Earth, is a small, feisty femme. She's cocky and likes to party and get wild. And did I mention she's spark mates with the communications officer? How will she and Soundwave keep their relationship a secret from Megatron who happens to be infatuated with this femme. (Rating may go up to M in later chapters!)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is a re-write of a story I started a few years ago. Forbidden Love. Idk if you guys got the chance to read it or not, I deleted it. :( but this one will be better! :D how y'all enjoy it. The ratings may change in later chapters, depending on if you guys want a little sexy stuffs in it or not. I could always write a one-shot of that. Annndd I'm rambling lol. Enjoy! Please review!**

Soundwave sat at his desk in his quarters. His spark fluttered excitedly at the message alert that flashed across his data pad. He smiled behind his mask and opened the message.

" 'cons started raiding the neighborhood. I packed everything, I'm on my way to earth. I told Shockwave I wanted to join the war and follow under Megatrons command. I'm coming in with the new recruits."

-Astrolyte

The data pad fell from Soundwaves servos. He quickly exited his room and headed towards the command room.

The doors opened as Soundwave entered, Megatron and Starscream turning to face him. "Ah, Soundwave. Just the mech I was looking for. Shockwave just contacted us and told us he's sending in some new recruits. I want you, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker to go and retrieve them from the space bridge." Megatron instructed. Starscream and Soundwave nodded and Starscream contacted his trine mates to meet them outside.

Once outside Starscream was informing Skywarp and Thundercracker of their duties when Soundwave spoke up, "Astrolyte is one of the recruits."

"What? Why? Why is she joining the Decepticons? Is everything alright?" Thundercracker asked worriedly.

Back on Cybertron Soundwave was actually good friends with Starscream and his trine. They lived across the hall from each other in their apartment building.

"Statement: Astrolyte said the Decepticons on Cybertron started raiding the complex so she left before they reached her and joined the Decepticons to come to earth." Soundwave explained. "But, what about Megatron? And the other 'cons? Astrolyte will be the only femme here! And no offense but..she's pretty slaggin attractive Soundwave." Skywarp exclaimed. Thundercracker slapped his younger trine mate across the back of the helm as Starscream stared at him in disapproval. Soundwave expelled the air from his vents heavily before taking off towards the space bridge. The three seekers following after him.

~Time Skip~

The four high ranking Decepticons reached the space bridge just as the new recruits came through. The new Decepticons included the Insecticons, Reflector, the Stunticons, a few random bots, and then Astrolyte. Soundwaves spark fluttered again in excitement and euphoria. He smiled behind his mask. Astrolyte gave a small smile, discreetly towards Soundwave before gathering the few boxes of belongings she brought with her. She huffed annoyedly as Drag Strip and Wildrider approached her. "Need a big strong mech to carry those for you?" Drag Strip asked as he reached out towards the boxes. Astrolyte shoved his hand away, "No thank you. I can carry them just fine."

"Mine names Wildrider. Feel free to hit my com link if you ever want a wild ride." He winked at her. Astrolyte stifled a laugh as she picked up the three boxes and walked away. She came to stop in front of Soundwave and the seekers, holding back a big smile. "Attention new recruits! I am Starscream for those of you that do not know. I am Megatrons second in command and these are my trine mates. Thundercracker and Skywarp. And this is Soundwave, Megatrons third in command and communications officer. You will all grab your belongings and follow us back to base where you will be briefed on what exactly it means to be apart of the Decepticon cause and what will be expected of you." Starscream introduced. The recruits nodded and began transforming.

The ground Decepticons transformed into their alt modes, following on the ground below while the others took the the skies following the commanding officers. Once back at the base Strascream handed all of the recruits keys and data pads. "The key is to unlock your new rooms. The data pad has the code for you to set up your lock system. Also on the data pad you will find a map of the base, the energon raid schedule, and a list of all the Autobots here on earth for you to keep a look out for. Meet in the recreation room in three hours for your briefing and meeting with Megatron and the other Decepticons." Starscream instructed. The recruits nodded and headed off to their rooms.

No longer than ten minutes after she entered her room there was a knock on the door. Astrolyte smiled and raced to open the door, letting in her three visitors. "Astrolyte!" Skywarp cheered as he quickly embraced the femme in a hug. She giggled and hugged the seeker back. "Skywarp! TC!" She cheered as Thundercracker joined the hug. The door clicked shut and Astrolyte leapt into Soundwaves arms. They stood there hugging each other tightly. "Statement: Soundwave missed Astrolyte deeply." Soundwave spoke as they hugged. Astrolyte giggled. "Statement: Astrolyte dislikes Soundwaves monotone voice." She mocked. Soundwave chuckled, "Sorry, it's become a habit here." He rumbled in his deep voice. She smiled and stepped back from Soundwave. "You're just as beautiful as the first time I saw you." Soundwave said as his mask and visor retracted, revealing his light blue optics and big smile. Astrolyte's faceplates heated up quickly in a blush as Soundwave took in her appearance. She hadn't changed at all. She was a small femme, barely reaching the middle of his chest. Yet she was curvy, voluptuous, and she knew exactly how to move her body to get her way. Her amor was a glowing white color. And she wore a red visor to cover her emerald green optics. She had little door wings that fluttered on her back.

She smiled back and retracted her visor and hugged him again. Soundwave leaned down as she stood on edge of her peds as they shared a slow kiss. Memories racing through their processors and love and affection racing through their sparks.

"Woohoo! Get it Soundwave!" Skywarp cheered. Thundercracker sighed and looked at his trine mate in disapproval. Astrolyte giggled and broke the kiss. "It's nice to see you guys again too, Skywarp." She giggled as she walked back over the to boxes she started opening. "Since you're here...I could use a little help unpacking?" She asked giving the three a smile and wiggling her doorwings cutely. Soundwave walked over and opened the box she had in front of her and started helping her unpack it. Skywarp and Thundercracker going to the second and third boxes.

"You grabbed all the pictures?" Soundwave asked as he smiled down at a picture frame in his hands. "Well duh. I couldn't leave them. That ones my favorite." She said glancing at the picture he held. The picture showed Astrolyte and Soundwave together laughing surrounded by Soundwaves cassetticons in their apartment on the couch. Soundwave smiled at the picture. "I haven't told them yet that you're here. They'll be thrilled." Soundwave muttered still looking at the picture. Astrolyte pulled out another picture frame and waved it in Soundwaves face. "Looky what I found...this one is probably a close second favorite.."she trailed off. It was a photo of Soundwave and Astrolyte in Crystal City on Cybertron. It was a very romantic looking picture. The two stood facing each other holding hands. Astrolyte leaning up towards Soundwave and Soundwave leaning down towards Astrolyte. Their faceplates centimeters away from them sharing a kiss as the glorious city sparkled behind them. "That was the day after we became spark mates." Soundwave smiled. Astrolyte nodded and placed the picture frame on the table next to her berth. Soundwave sighed, "I don't know if you should hang these up and have them out in here Astrolyte.."

"What? Why not?" She asked. "Because if someone were to come in here and see them, they might take it to Megatron. And I'm not sure how he'll react to us being together. He could see it as a weakness and kill us. He's ruthless Astrolyte. He doesn't show any mercy. I don't want you getting hurt." He explained. "Oh...I see.." Astrolyte said sadly as she started putting the pictures she took out back into the box. Astrolyte felt worry and protectiveness through their bond and sent back reassurance and love. "It's okay. I can always look back at them in my memories." She smiled at him. Soundwave nodded and they began unpacking the rest of her belongings.

An hour and a half later and the four were done unpacking and organizing Astrolyte's room. On the walls were pictures of Astrolyte, her carrier and her sire, a few pictures of Cybertron, a mirror, and she hung up a string of lights to brighten the room a little more. She put a lamp on her desk and laid out her art books and supplies. And had a nice organized crate for her appearance supplies, such as special paint, wax and a rag, and a special can of wax that kept her armor extra shiny and kept dirt and stains off her white armor. A femme has to look good, right?

"So? Where are the cassettes? I can't wait to see them!" Astrolyte asked Soundwave. "Yeah...where are they? Rumble and Frenzy have been quiet all day.."Skywarp trailed off. "They're probably scheming a prank to get you back." Thundercracker snorted. "They're on their way down here now." Soundwave said as he sat down on the berth next to Astrolyte, TC sitting in her desk chair and Skywarp was sprawled out on the floor.

A knock sounded on the door. "Who is it?" Astrolyte called. "It's us!" Came Rumble's voice. Astrolyte flung the door open and the cassettes poured in, engulfing Astrolyte in hugs. Soundwave shut the door back and smiled at the sight of the cassettes and his lover. "I missed you guys soooo much!" Astrolyte said as she hugged each of the cassettes. "We missed you too. We got your messages you sent us!" Frenzy said cheerfully. "Well I'm here now! And I'm glad you got my messages. You guys are doing okay? Staying out of trouble?" She asked. Rumble and Frenzy nodded. Thundercracker scoffed in the background, "staying out of trouble? Those two? The things I'd give to see that day..." He grumbled. Astrolyte giggled, "Sounds about right."

Ravage and Lazerbeak made themselves comfortable on Astrolyte's berth while Rumble and Frenzy looked through the boxes of pictures Astrolyte was going to put away.

"Well me and Skywarp are gonna head outta here. Let you guys catch up and such." Thundercracker spoke as he stood up. He gave Skywarp a kick when he tried to protest. "I mean I guess...I wanna catch up with Astrolyte too.." Skywarp grumbled as he followed TC out of the room. "Yes, but you're not her spark mate, you idiot." Thundercracker scolded him.

After she shut the door back Astrolyte wandered over to her berth and sat down next to Soundwave, interlocking their fingers. Soundwave smiled at her and was about to speak when his com link burst to life.

~• Soundwave, report to the command room. I want you to pull up the files of all the new recruits. Medical files, family files, criminal records, all of it.•~ boomed Megatrons' voice.

~• On my way, Lord Megatron.•~ Soundwave replied. He gave Astrolyte an apologetic look and stood up, kissing her on the forehelm. "I'll see you at the meeting." He said as he turned and left her room. His visor and face mask sliding back in place. Astrolyte sighed and rubbed ravage behind her ear. "we'll catch up later.." She mumbled followed by a yawn. "Maybe we'll take a nap.." She said as she laid on the berth, the cassetticons cuddling around her. She giggled a little and set her internal alarm to wake her up in time for the meeting with Megatron. She held the Cassettes close, Rumble and Frenzy in her arms, Ravage curled against her legs, and Lazerbeak was curled up against her helm. Her systems shut down as they all drifted off into recharge.

~In the Control Room~

Soundwave stepped through the doors and greeted Megatron with a slight bow. He took a seat at his desk and began digging through the Cybertron data base to find all information about the new recruits.

After pulling all the information on the Stunticons, Insecticons, Reflector and the random bots, Soundwave began carefully going through Astrolyte's files. It felt wrong digging through her personal things. He knew pretty much everything about her but still. He also had to decide what information Megatron should have his servos on...

Soundwave shifted uncomfortably in his chair when her criminal/mischief records flashed across the screen. She grew up in Kaon after all, of course she's going to have some records. Soundwave scanned through the records, most of which were fighting, and a few destruction of property. Soundwave decided nothing needed to be hidden from her criminal records and moved on to her family files. He took notice that her creators were still online. He'd only met them a few times, they were good bots. They only wanted the best for Astrolyte but they were rather poor and couldn't really afford to give her as much as they'd like. He thought for a moment and decided it might be better if Megatron was under the impression her creators were offline..

He typed in a few codes and hacked the database, changing their status to offline. He looked through her files a little more and noted that her being bonded wasn't in there. That's a good sign. Next were her medical records. And boy was her file long...

Soundwave held in a sigh, noticing Megatron was still in the room. Astrolyte was a wild femme. Always getting in some kind of trouble. But it's what makes them so perfect for each other. Opposites attract right? Not saying Soundwave is a complete stick in the mud. He enjoys having friends over, drinking some high grade, just having a good time. But he knows when it's time for the parties to end and life to begin. Astrolyte struggles with that sometimes. She's a dreamer, always thinking outside the box, crazy wild ideas. And Soundwave is the realist. She's the kite while Soundwave holds the string to bring her back down when she's too high in the clouds. Yet her dreams is what brought them together in the first place...

~Flash Back - 6 Vorns ago ( 498 years)~

Soundwave stood frustratedly bored in the Helix Garden. His creators dragged him to an opening art exhibitIt in hopes of finding an exotic art piece for a house party they were planning. An opening exhibit is an art exhibit for the poor to present their art in hopes of becoming wealthy. Most of the time they were old bots who lived in Kaon or just outside of Kaon who wanted to get out of that Pit of a place.

Soundwave had better things to do than look at art though. He'd rather be at home practicing his telekinesis or hacking some bots computer.

Walking around aimlessly Soundwave came to a painting. It was a very nice painting, almost looked like a photo. It was a painting of Crystal City. Soundwave couldn't help but stare at it in awe when he heard someone approach him from his left. He turned to see a small femme standing there. "Do you like it?" She asked. Soundwave nodded, "It's a lovely painting. Looks very realistic, like a photo. I wonder how long the artist looked at the Crystal City to paint this."

"She's never seen it actually. Well, not in person. She's only seen pictures and heard of its beauty." The femme answered. Soundwave gave her a questioning look. "You've never been to Crystal City?" He questioned. The femme shook her head, "nope. I'm waiting to go see it. I want my first time to be magical and memorable. Like, going with my spark mate on our honeymoon." Soundwave smiled at this and his spark seemed to stop for a klick. "Well you're a very talented artist. I hope your art gets chosen. My designation is Soundwave." He introduced, his hand outstretched. "Thank you, I'm glad you like it, I'm Astrolyte." The femme greeted in return, shaking his hand.

"I wanna show you something, I think you'll like it and maybe you could paint it for the next exhibit." Soundwave said gently pulling Astrolyte off into the garden. She hesitated a little but followed him none the less.

After walking through the garden a little, Soundwave led her to a cave. "Whoa there buddy. What're you doing?" Astrolyte question, pulling out of his grasp. Soundwave looked at her confused, until a light bulb seemed to go off in his processor. "Oh! No, no, it's not like that. I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I want to show you something inside the cave. I'm sorry." He apologized quickly. Astrolyte giggled and nodded in agreement, taking Soundwaves hand again they walked into the cave.

Inside thousands of multicolored crystals shimmered, illuminating the cave. Astrolyte stared in awe. "Wow...they're so beautiful." She gasped. "You're beautiful.." Soundwave trailed off. At his compliment Astrolyte's fans seemed to kick up a little bit as her armor heated. "T-thank you.." She mumbled, looking down at her peds.

"Im sorry...I know I just met you but, I-I-i feel something. And, I wanna see you again. Please." Soundwave pleaded, tilting her helm up to look her in the optics. Both of their fans kicking up to a higher setting. "O-okay. Meet me here in an orn (13 days). I'll have this painted for you.." Astrolyte blushed.

And so it began. The two began meeting every orn. And then they began meeting every couple of solar cycles. Then every solar cycle. They were quickly falling in love. At first Soundwaves creators were skeptical of him being with a femme from kaon. His carrier saying that most of the femmes there were "no good, sparked fraggers just looking for a mech with money they can hook up with. Before they dump him at the junk yard." But once they got to know Astrolyte a little more they saw she was different and accepted her.

~End Flash Back~

Soundwave stared at probably the most crucial part of Astrolyte's files. Sharing this information with Megatron could either end very well or very bad. In front of him was Astrolyte's past, her life. What she did while living in kaon.

Soundwave stiffened when he heard Megatron approaching from behind him. "Well, well, well. My audios don't deceive me. I heard some mechs in the hall speaking of their being a femme amongst the new recruits. I wasn't sure if it was true or not. She's from Kaon? And she's a..."

 **To be continued! :D MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	2. Chapter 2

Hey **guys! I'm back! Glad y'all enjoyed the first chapter, here's the second one! Please review and tell me what you think! This chapter gets a little intense towards the end, nothing too serious I think but Just letting you know. Enjoy guys! :)**

Soundwave stiffened when he heard Megatron approaching from behind him. "Well, well, well. My audios don't deceive me. I heard some mechs in the hall speaking of their being a femme amongst the new recruits. I wasn't sure if it was true or not. She's from Kaon? And she's a cage fighter at that? Quite the little delinquent we have here. Seems she will be a nice addition to the Decepticon cause..." Megatron trailed off as he walked away. Soundwave sat confused, yet relieved, and a little worried.

Megatron is pleased with her records, so she won't be off lined or anything. But at the same time Soundwave got an unsettling feeling. Shaking it off he rose with the files downloaded on a data pad for Megatron and left for the meeting in the recreation room.

Walking through the doors Soundwave scanned the room, he saw Megatron standing at the front with Starscream and his trine on his left, and a space for Soundwave to stand on the right. Without hesitation the bots in the room quickly cleared a path for the mech to walk through. Astrolyte sent amusement through the bond and Soundwave sent back a feeling of dominance and amusement. Once standing at the front of the room Soundwave located Astrolyte. She was sitting at a table by herself towards the back. She smiled a little and flickered her door wings in a sign of acknowledgement, like waving at him.

"All right newbies! To the front!" Starscream screeched. Soundwave handed Megatron the data pad and the leader skimmed through as the new recruits made their way to stand in front of everyone. Whispers resounded through the room as Astrolyte walked through, her helm up, door wings lifted high and stiff on her back. Soundwave watched her closely as she moved by the mechs, scanning their processors with his telepathy to make sure no one was going to touch her. Thankfully no bot was foolish enough to touch her out in public, but the thoughts Soundwave found in their processors made him want to rip every single one of them apart. She was his femme. No one else can have her, ever. He ached to have her stand next to him, while he held her close. Of course she can handle herself just fine, but still.

She stopped right in front of Megatron, a smug look on her face. "Hello there little femme. And what brings you to the Decepticons? I thought all the femmes stayed on Cyberton, to keep the place cleaned up. Raise the sparklings and such." Motor master teased. Extreme amusement radiated through Astrolyte and Soundwaves bond. Astrolyte crossed her arms across her chassis. "Are you stereo typing me?" She snapped at the mech. "Are you really gonna keep her around? I mean what's she gonna do to contribute to the war besides being a nice piece of aft walking around for enjoyment?" Ramjet asked. Soundwave tensed with rage.

Astrolyte laughed, a full hearted laugh. It bounced off the walls, echoing through the empty halls. "What's so funny?" Ramjet asked. His question was ignored and Megatron proceeded with the meeting. The leader handed the data pad back to Soundwave and sighed heavily.

"Welcome new recruits. I am your leader, Lord Megatron. Your presence here is appreciated so we can all work together to defeat the Autoscum and take over Earth, Cybertron, the Galaxy, maybe someday even the universe. If you have any problems...work it out yourselves. These are the commanding officers", Megtron paused to motion at the mechs next to him, "if they tell you to do something, you do it. No questions asked. If you're injured, fix it yourself or go find Hook, the medic. Long meeting short, don't bother me unless absolutely necessary. And you should really ask yourself if it's necessary before proceeding with bothering me." Megatron concluded.

"You can now all mingle and catch up with each other and what not. Hook will be in the medical bay, you can go see him to get your Decepticon insignia." Starscream said as the bots started to disperse.

Megatron reached out and grabbed Astrolyte's arm. "Why don't you join me and the officers for energon." He commanded more than asked. Astrolyte nodded, her arm still in Megatrons grasp as he, Starscream, Soundwave, Skywarp and Thundercracker walked out of the room. They walked down the hallways in silence, coming to a stop outside a large door. Megatron typed in a code and the door opened, revealing what looked like a private recreation room. There was a couch, a large TV, a Cybertronian sized pool table, and a bar with all different brands of high grade. On the counter at the bar were boxes of energon treats and oil cakes.

Megatron walked Astrolyte over to the bar and sat her down on a stool. Skywarp sprawled out on the couch next to Thundercracker, Starscream sat across the room in a chair, his face plates buried in a data pad. Soundwave sat down at the bar, one seat away from Astrolyte and Megtron walked behind the bar.

"So, femme, tell me about yourself." Megatron demanded as he grabbed three glasses, and a bottle of fine aged high grade from the shelf. "First of all, my name is Astrolyte. With a 'y' not an 'i'. And uh, what do you wanna know? Where are we?" She questioned him. "Also, you didn't even ask if I drink high grade." She stated.

Megatron chuckled lowly as he placed the glass in front of her. "Looking at your files and records, I wouldn't pin you as a no high grade kinda femme." He smirked. Astrolyte's doorwings flickered a little and she sent panic across the bond. Soundwave sent reassurance in return and watched Megatron closely.

"You looked through my records? Ever heard of privacy?" She snapped at him. Megatron smirked again, "a cage fighter, huh? Didn't know femmes were cage fighters. How many fights did you lose?"

Astrolyte growled a little, "I don't do that slag anymore. I quit fighting a long time ago. Femmes can do anything mechs can do. Except we can do it better."

"Oh?" Megatron raised an optic ridge.

"Yep. Wanna know how I know? Because I never lost a fight. And I was the only femme cage fighter in all of Kaon." She smirked. "I see. So, you fought mechs? And beat all of them? And how many mechs did you frag to make sure you won every fight?" Megatron asked. Astrolyte's engine revved loudly, rage coursing through her. She slammed her hands on the counter, throwing the glass cup across the room. Leaning over the counter she grabbed Megatron by his chest plate and pulled him to her face.

"You listen here. I'm not a dirty femme. I don't frag bots to get my way. I get what I want by getting it myself. I worked hard. I trained every waking moment of my life. And I fought. I fought to keep myself and my family Alive. I fought for money that would buy us energon. It wasn't some hobby." She growled lowly. Megatron chuckled and grabbed Astrolyte by her neck. He yanked her across the counter and pinned her against the wall.

"No. You listen, femme. I, am lord Megatron. Leader of the Decepticons. You joined my faction. Which means you do as I say." He paused, using his free hand to trace her transformation seams softly. The others in the room were watching closely, fear and shock on their faces as they stood there motionless. Soundwave stood on the other side of the counter, fear, anger, and confusion coursing through him.

Soundwave was scared of what Megatron was going to do to Astrolyte. He was scared of what would happen to him if he intervened. He was scared of what would happen between him and Astrolyte if he didn't intervene. Would she be angry at him for not stopping him? Soundwave stood there frozen. Then he was angry at himself. Why isn't stopping him? He might be my commander but no one messes with Astrolyte, he as Soundwave was stepping around the counter Starscream beat him to it.

"But Lord Megatron...as much fun as it would be to take her now and make her YOUR femme...Maybe you should pursue her, let her come around to you. A femme like her at your side could be very useful. She could infiltrate the Autobots, you know how they are. They couldn't turn away a femme. But if you do this now, and harm her, she'll be useless. The first chance she gets she'll run." The seeker whispered in Megatrons audios. A wicked smirk spread across Megatrons face and she dropped Astrolyte to the floor. Soundwave could feel the relief radiating off the others in the room.

"Of course it might take some time. But trust me. You want a femme like this to come to you." Starscream purred and walked away. Skywarp rushed over to Astrolyte and helped her up. Her engine was sputtering and her doorwings were bent. They all left the room except Megatron. He stayed and had himself a few bottles of high grade. Scheming on how to get Astrolyte to be his.

Once they were all in the hallway and around the corner Soundwave immediately took Astrolyte in his arms and Skywarp transwarped them into Astrolyte's room.

"What the frag was that Astrolyte?!" Starscream snapped. "This isn't like back at home Astrolyte. You can't get all cocky and go around trying to rough up any mech that crosses you." Thundercracker explained. Soundwave sat her on the berth and unsubspaced his basic medical tools. His mask and Visor retracted and he reached out, taking off her visor, staring in to her optics. She looked back into his, she recoiled a little bit when she saw anger and hurt in his optics.

"I'm sorry.." She mumbled, looking down at the floor.

Soundwave sighed and gave the three seekers a look. Starscream nodded and led the other two out of the room, giving them privacy.

"Astrolyte?...sweet spark? Are you alright?" Soundwave asked softly. He held her chin and picked her face up to look at him. Filling their bond with love. "I..I didn't mean to do that. I got angry...I'm sorry." She apologized softly. Soundwave leaned forward and kissed her nose ridge softly. "Maybe we should work on your temper.."he chuckled earning him a giggle from the femme. She smiled at him but the smile quickly turned into a look of pain as she tried to wiggle her doorwings. "Let me fix them. It's going to hurt though." Soundwave instructed. Astrolyte nodded and turned away from him, she grabbed on to the berth tightly and prepared herself for the pain.

Soundwave examined her bent doorwings and sighed. They were folded down in half, meaning Soundwave was going to have to unfold them.

He rubbed a comforting servo up and down her back before placing his hands on one of her doorwings. "Ready?" He asked. Astrolyte nodded a quick 'yes' and gritted her denta to hold back a scream as Soundwave quickly bent the doorwing back in place. Her body shuddered with pain and she whimpered softly as tears gathered in her optics. Soundwave placed a soft loving kiss on her doorwing, rubbing her back some more, giving her time to recover.

"Alright, almost done. " he said taking hold of her other doorwing. Astrolyte whimpered again and her engine heaved as Soundwave bent the second door wing back into place. A small cry of pain erupted from her vocalizer and Soundwave immediately pulled her into a hug. She cried softly against his chassis. "Shhh, I know. It's okay, it's over now." He hushed. Opening his first aid kit, Soundwave retrieved a bottle of soothing cream made for wings. Pouring some into his hand he began rubbing it across her doorwings lightly. A few moments later, Astrolyte was done crying, she looked up at Soundwave with a tear stained face.

"You should rest." Soundwave suggested, pulling her further into the berth and laying down next to her. She curled into his chassis, her engine purring softly. "I missed this.." She mumbled as she traced Indistinct patterns across his frame. Soundwave smiled and held her close, kissing the top of her helm. "Me too." He mumbled. All he heard in return was a small 'hmm' as he felt her drifting off into recharge. Hearing his cassettes enter the room had Soundwave smiling again. They all made themselves comfortable, soon the room was silent. Except for the small hums and light whirls of their fans and engines.

~Astrolyte dreaming~

"Stop eating all the energon goodies! You fat aft!" Astrolyte teased. The femme next to her giggled and closed the box. "Right, sorry. They're for the sparklings." She giggled back. Astrolyte rolled her optics and gave her friend a gentle push as they walked down the streets of Iacon.

Astrolyte was in Iacon visiting a close friend of hers. Metalina, they met at a house party Soundwaves creators threw. They instantly became best friends, though they didn't get to see each other much. Metalina came from a noble family. And well, Astrolyte was from Kaon...a very unlikely pair of friends. Surprisingly enough they were very similar. They had weekly outings together, sometimes in the high society cities, other times they were in Astrolyte's side of Cybertron hitting up bars and having a good time. Today was the day they visited the orphanage though. They did this once a week while Soundwave and Metalina's soon-to-be spark mate had a mechs day out.

Walking into the orphanage Astrolyte's spark filled with joy as her favorite sparkling tottled over it her. "Astrolyte!" The young femme greeted. "Stella!" Astrolyte greeted in return. She picked up the sparkling and hugged her close. "How are you?" Astrolyte asked, rubbing her nose ridge against Stella's, earning her a giggled from the sparkling. "I'm otay. Jus' playin'. Waitin' for you to come visit!" Stella giggled.

Astrolyte smiled and held up an energon goodie. Stella cheered and happily took it from Astrolyte's hand. She took a small bite and held the candy up to Astrolyte's mouth, Astrolyte smiled and took a small bite. "Sharing is caring!" Stella stated proudly. "That's right Stella! You should always be nice to other bots." Astrolyte smiled.

She placed Stella on the ground and watched her run off down the halls, yelling over her shoulder about having a present for Astrolyte. While waiting patiently for Stella to return the orphanage went black.

"Stella? Metalina? What's going on?" Astrolyte called out, looking around frantically. The ground started shaking and a menacing laugh erupted from the darkness. Astrolyte's spark was beating rapidly against its casing. Sprinting through the dark Astrolyte kept calling to the other femmes. The laughing seemed to grow louder and louder from every direction. Astrolyte let out a frustrated scream and punched a wall close to her. The wall seemed to crack and then crumble to dust on the floor. Behind the wall Astrolyte found herself staring at the orphanage from the outside. It was burning. Bright orange and red flames erupting from the building, scream could be heard. Astrolyte felt tears streaming down her face as she screamed in horror.

"Help! Somebody help! Please!" She cried out as she ran towards the building. As she kept running it seemed the orphanage was getting farther away from her.

"Stella! Metalina!" She screamed, running as fast as she could. Her intakes and fans working rapidly.

Suddenly the building crumbled and in its place was a very abnormally large Megatron. He laughed wickedly holding Stella in one hand and Metalina in the other. His optics glowed an evil ruby red, and his denta were all sharpened to a point. He growled lowly, staring down at Astrolyte.

"Let them go!" She screamed at Megatron. She charged at him but suddenly the ground disappeared and Astrolyte was spiraling down into darkness. She screamed and flailed helplessly as she fell to what she assumed would be her death. "Soundwave help me!" She cried out desperately.

~End Dream~

Astrolyte shot up from the berth screaming and flailing wildly. "HELP ME!" She screamed. Soundwave jumped out of recharge grabbing Astrolyte tightly and holding her close. "Astrolyte, calm down. It's alright. It was just a nightmare, I'm here." Soundwave soothed. Astrolyte moved away from him, breathing heavily. She stood up from the berth and moved over to her desk. "I have to call Meta." Was all she kept mumbling as she rummaged around for the call device.

"Sweets park, it's the middle of the night. You just had a nightmare. I'm sure Metalina is fine. Come back to bed. You can call her in the morning." Soundwave said a little more demanding as he rose from the berth and walked over to his distressed spark mate. At this point all the cassettes were awake and watching the scene.

"N-no. It can't wait until morning. I have to call her now." Astrolyte growled as she rummaged around furiously. Reaching the bottom drawer she pulled out the call device with a sound of excitement. "Astrolyte." Soundwave said in a threatening tone. "I have to check on Stella." She growled back at him as she started to call Metalina.

She waited silently for her friend to pick up. Her optics lighting up with joy when she heard her friends voice on the other end of the line. "Meta?! You're okay?! I need a favor! Can you check on Stella for me tomorrow? Make sure she's okay?" Astrolyte asked desperately.

"Yeah I'm fine. Did you have a nightmare? Stella is fine, I saw her earlier today. I tried calling you but you didn't answer..." Metalina trailed off. She sighed heavily as Astrolyte began rambling about her nightmare.

"Astro, listen. I have something I need to tell you..." Metalina said slowly, the seriousness of her voice stopping Astrolyte cold. "What is it? Is something wrong?.."Astrolyte asked, starting to panic. She felt Soundwaves worry as she moved in front of her, looking in her optics for an answer to her sudden panicked state.

"It's your carrier...she's really sick...your sire said she probably won't make it. She's old, ya know? The elder get sick real easy now..."Metalina said sadly.

"W-what? When did this happen? What's going on? I'm coming back." Astrolyte said, quickly hanging up the phone before Metalina could protest.

"I need to get back to Cybertron. Right now." Astrolyte demanded, looking at Soundwave. He stared at her in confusion. "What? Why? What's going on?" He asked. "My carrier. She's really sick, Meta said she's going to offline soon. I have to get back to see her." She pleaded. Soundwave felt his spark drop into his tanks. He hesitantly nodded to her.

"Cassettes will stay here and keep out location hidden from Megatron and the others." Soundwave instructed the cassettes. They all gave Astrolyte and Soundwave quick hugs before they all exited the room. Soundwave grabbed Astrolyte's hand and they quietly snuck out of the base, avoiding all the security cameras. Once outside the base the two headed for the space bridge. When they reached it Soundwave plugged into the space bridge, transmitting the coordinates of Cybertron into it and starting it up. He made sure to redirect everything as to not alert Shockwave.

Lights flashed, and gears turned as the space bridge powered up. Once read the two entered,

Arriving back on Cybertron in a matter of minutes.

Looking around and scanning the perimeter, Soundwave determined Shockwave was no where to be found in the lab that harbored the other end of the space bridge. The two quickly found their way out and headed for the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thank y'all so much for the follows and favorites and the reviews! Here's the next chapter! hope you enjoy! Please review!**

Astrolyte burst into the Kaon hospital and was immediately greeted by her closest friends. Metalina, Jinxx and Eridanus (ear-eh-don-us). "Where is she?" Astrolyte demanded, her emerald optics growing darker with fear and anger. "Down the hall, last door on the left." Metalina said softly. They watched Astrolyte take off down the hall. The nurse at the desk calling after her that she needed to check in and wait for visiting hours. But Astrolyte wasn't paying her any mind.

"Hey Soundwave." Jinxx greeted the mech. He nodded at the femmes in greeting and watched the hallway Astrolyte disappeared into. He sighed and took a seat, putting his helm in his hands. "It'll be okay. She's a strong femme." Eridanus comforted. Soundwave nodded in agreement. The three femmes all took their seats in the waiting room, waiting anxiously for the bad news to come.

~Astrolyte's POV~

I could feel the fear boiling up inside my tanks. Walking into my carriers hospital room a sob threatened to escape my vocalizer. I felt Soundwave reaching out to me with comfort in our bond. I shut off my end of the bond, blocking him from my emotions and blocking myself from his.

"H-hey.." I mumbled almost inaudibly. My sire looked up from his seat next to my carriers berth. "Hey sweet spark. It's nice to see you." He greeted me before looking sadly at my carrier. She looked so sick. Her usually Aqua and white armor was tinted with grey. She was hooked up to several different machines, all of them beeping and humming softly.

I shuffled over to the berth and placed a shaky hand on her helm. She stirred a little and her blue optics came to life. "Hey sweetie...I've missed you." She smiled at me. My spark was pounding in my chest. Tears threatening to spill from my optics. "I've missed you too..I got here as fast as I could. Don't worry, you'll get through this. I'm here to help." I reassured myself more than her. Kneeling down next to the berth I kissed her cheek softly.

"...I'm not going to make it...and I've come to terms with it. You should too..It's my time to join the well of all sparks. I'm so glad you're here though." She answered weakly. I wanted to cry, and scream, and punch things. It's not fair. It's not her time to leave. She can't leave me. I felt her place a hand on my cheek, looking at her she gave me a small smile and a nod. "I love you so much. Please don't leave." I sobbed out as tears started to fall. I looked at my sire and saw him crying as well, holding my carriers hand against his chest.

"I love you both so very much. I'm so proud of you Astrolyte. I'll be watching over you, please don't let this consume your life. You're a good femme and I know you're destined for greatness. Be smart, make smart decisions. Spend as much time with Soundwave as possible, start a family...be happy." She cried softly. She turned to my sire and they shared a slow loving kiss. She rested her helm back against the pillow and sighed. Shutting of her optics, I could hear her old systems beginning to shut down. I whimpered loudly and hugged her.

"Astrolyte..." My sire spoke softly, he reached over and tried to grab my hand.

Quickly standing up I moved towards the door. "I need to be alone." I mumbled walking out. I walked down the hallway I entered from, memories of me with my family flashing through my processor. My spark ached immensely, my intakes heaved a little as I started to choke down my sobs. I walked into the waiting room and my friends all stood up, moving forwards to comfort me.

"You were supposed to check in young lady. I need to see some ID and you need to fill out some information on these data pads." The nurse spoke up from her desk.

Pure rage rose up inside me.

~Soundwaves POV~

Astrolyte walked down the hallway, I could see her straining to hold in her tears. It hurt me to see her like this. But Eridanus is right, Astrolyte is a strong femme. She fights her way trough anything. And she never really was one to share her feelings when tragedy like this happens.

We all stood up to hug her, until the nurse spoke up. I've never seen Astrolyte look so angry before...her emerald optics looked more like a forest green they were so dark. She turned towards the nurse and let out a very loud scream as she literally threw everything off the desk. The computer flew across the room and collided with the wall, breaking into pieces, data pads and picture frames littered the floor as well, shattering the glass.

"Astrolyte..." I spoke quietly as I moved towards her slowly.

"Astrolyte calm down." Jinxx said softly, coming up next to me.

She whipped around and stared directly at me. I contemplated with myself for a few astroseconds before determining it would be best for her safety if I read her mind to find out her next move.

I very carefully pried into her outer thoughts. She's lost, scared, and confused.

She clenched and unclenched her fists in frustration as she opened and closed her mouth, looking for the right words to say. She kept her head down and walked right past all of us, walking out the door. We all shared a confused look and followed her outside.

She paced around the street a little, growling and huffing. She kicked over a few trash cans and even punched the building a few times.

"Astrolyte, calm down. Let us help you." Metalina spoke up.

"I don't need any help. I'm fine." Astrolyte hissed in response. I tried reaching out to her through our bond, but she still had me closed off from her. "Astrolyte, you're obviously not fine. Stop being stubborn and let us help you." Jinxx snapped frustratedly. The only response she got was an energon chilling glare.

A few breems went by and Astrolyte seemed like she was starting to lose control. She stood there, in the middle of the street, staring at the ground. Her fans going at maximum to cool down her heated body. Tears started to fall down her face. I walked over to her, I tilted her face up and wiped away her tears. She took a step towards me, wrapping her arms around me as she started to cry. I held her close as our bond burst to life. "Please help me." She cried. I held her tighter and stroked her doorwings lovingly. "That's what I'm here for." I responded, kissing her helm.

Metalina, Jinxx and Eridanus joined the hug. Reassuring Astrolyte that we all loved her and are here for her. A few breems later, Astrolyte stepped out of the group hug and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you guys. I love you all so much, I think I need to get some rest now." She said with a smile.

We said our goodbyes and I felt Astrolyte shakily hold my hand, lacing our fingers together. I gave her hand a light squeeze and kissed her cheek. "Let's go home for the night?" I suggested to her. She nodded in agreement and rested her helm on my shoulder. I smiled and picked her up, carrying her bridal style. She giggled a little and curled into me. "I'm gonna miss her." She mumbled softly, nuzzling into my neck. "I know you are. I'll miss her too." I answered back as I kept walking through the streets.

We reached our old apartment in my home city, Polyhex. Keeping my radars on high alert for any bots near by. I set Astrolyte down on her pedes next to me, she stood, her head down, leaning against me. I unsubspaced the key and unlocked the door.

"Looks just how it was before I left...missing the pictures and paintings on the walls though." I smiled down at Astrolyte. She gave me a sad smile and headed off to the berth room, I followed close behind.

"It'll be okay.."I reassured her as we laid down on the berth. I opened my arms and she immediately took her spot between them, curled close against me. "I love you." I told her, kissing her helm.

"I love you too." She mumbled softly, drifting off into recharge. I sighed and got comfortable before drifting off myself.

~Time Skip. Third person POV~

The next morning Soundwave awoke to Astrolyte gone.

"Where did she.." He stopped short when he found a note on the berth side table. It read:

Need some time to clear my

processor. If you're called back to earth that's fine, I'll meet up with you later. -Astrolyte

Soundwave sighed heavily as his processor started to ache. Astrolyte was gone, she disappeared to Primus knows where on Cybertron. And surely Megatron will get suspicious if they're gone for too long. Soundwave contacted his cassettes to see how things were going on the base on Earth.

"Everything's fine! We got this all under control, boss. Megatron hasn't even noticed you're gone. And if he does notice we'll just tell him you went out scouting the Autobots to figure out their next move. And we'll say Astrolyte went out with the other bots to scout the city looking for more energon spots." Rumble reassured.

"Let me know if anything changes. I don't know when we'll be back. Maybe tonight, if not tomorrow morning." Soundwave responded.

" _Depends on how long it takes me to find Astrolyte.."_ Soundwave thought to himself.

~• Have you seen or heard from Astrolyte?•~ Soundwave asked Metalina over comm link.

~•No, why? Let me guess, you woke up and she was gone? I'll check the orphanage and crystal city. Let me know if you find her.•~ Metalina responded.

Soundwave headed out the door, locking the apartment back. His first stop in the search for Astrolyte is helix gardens, where they met. Before the war started they would sometimes go there and spend time together in the cave.

Walking into the garden Soundwave felt a little guilty. The once beautiful Crystal garden was...less beautiful. Some of the crystals were broken, most of the garden was damaged, and the parts of the garden off in the distance looked to be completely demolished. All because of the war.

Soundwave reached the cave and cautiously walked inside. "Astrolyte?" Soundwave called out. He tried reaching out to her in their bond but she closed herself off from him. Soundwaves senses were on high as he kept scanning through the cave as he moved a little deeper. He froze when he heard a crystal shatter.

"Query: who's there?" Soundwave spoke up in his monotone voice.

"Designation: Decepticon communications officer, Soundwave. Command: reveal yourself or be terminated." Soundwave snapped. A young mech stepped out from behind some rocks. Soundwave raised his gun towards him.

"State your faction and your reasons for being here." He commanded next. The young mech was visibly shaking. "I-I-I-I'm not in a faction...I'm neutral...I-I-I'm here because my home was destroyed. It was a nice place to take cover. I'm sorry if I trespassed on Decepticon territory. Please don't kill me Soundwave! I've heard a lot about you! P-please have mercy just this once..." The mech pleaded.

"Soundwave has more important objectives. Off lining you would waste energy and ammo. Query: have you seen a femme in this location?" Soundwave asked. His spark filling with hope.

That hope quickly died when the mech shook his head 'no'. With that Soundwave fired his concussion blaster, immediately knocking the mech into stasis. Soundwave exited the cave and headed back into the city of Praxus, making his way towards kaon.

Walking into Kaon Soundwave stiffened. A few mechs were walking through the streets, some were drunk, some were Decepticons, and some looked badly beaten. Soundwave walked through the streets with his head up, they all knew who he was. None of them dared to challenge the communications officer.

After a few breems of walking Soundwave reached his destination, the home of Astrolyte's parental units. Looking around the building he found no traces of an energy signature, and no sign of Astrolyte. Soundwave growled frustratedly and took a seat on the steps, Astrolyte wouldn't respond to him in their bond, and she didn't have her comm link set up yet either.

She always insisted on not using a comm link because of her conspiracies that her link could fall into the hands of some mechs she didn't want in her life anymore. After she met Soundwave, Astrolyte started to changer her life drastically.

She would always come and visit him, she hardly ever invited him to her home in Kaon. She hung out with Metalina more than she hung out with Jinxx, the femme she was around a lot growing up. She was trying to become more of a model citizen, to be a good example and make a good impression on Soundwaves creators. After she and Soundwave got serious in their relationship and officially started courting, she stopped fighting. Shortly after that Soundwave sparked the cassettes, Ravage, Rumble and Frenzy were first. Ratbat and Lazerbeak came later and are the youngest of the cassettes. They were Soundwaves creations but they looked up to Astrolyte as if she was their mother. Soundwave couldn't help but smile at the memories of Astrolyte with the cassettes.

Reaching out to Astrolyte in the bond again, Soundwave shared a memory of her with the cassettes in hopes she'd open up. He felt amusement and curiosity flutter through from her end. She opened up a little more and Soundwave quickly figured out her location.

He rose from the steps and headed off to find her.

Reaching his final destination he opened the doors to the building and walked in. He almost visibly winced at the smell that emanated from the building. Quickly turning off his olfactory sensors he kept walking. At the end of the hallway he came to a very large room, it was a gym. Not a weight lifting gym though. Looking to the back left corner Soundwave found Astrolyte and another mech. Soundwave watched curiously, he had never been here before. The mech held the mannequin in place, instructing Astrolyte which body parts to strike it on. She moved quickly and struck with determination. The mech looked over to Soundwave, Astrolyte followed his gaze and stared in shock.

"Soundwave! What're you doing here?!" She exclaimed, running over to him, trying to nudge him out of the room. Soundwave merely stared down at her curiously. "I've never seen you fight before." Was all he said. She stopped her attempt to shoo Soundwave out and stared up at him. "Well yeah. There's a reason for that." She told him flatly.

"But why? I don't understand. It's something you've done your whole life. And no matter how much you deny it, you love it. You love showing off your strength, you enjoy feeling another bots amor dent at your fists. You love fighting, it's who you are. Stop trying to deny who you are." Soundwave said in a whisper so no one else could hear. He's a ruthless killer, he can't have bots in kaon of all places learning he's a soft sparked lover.

Astrolyte looked down at the floor, contemplating her answer. Her doorwings flickered and shifted on her back as she thought. Coming to a conclusion, she grabbed Soundwaves hand and walked out of the gym. She lead him to the back of the building where she proceeded to climb up a latter to the roof, Soundwave following. She took a seat and waited for Soundwave to do the same.

"When we told your parents we were officially courting, your carrier talked to me personally the day after..." She started slowly.

"What did she say?" Soundwave asked nervously. He knew how she could be sometimes.

"She told me I needed to act more femme like. She said that femmes don't act how I act. They stay at home and raise sparklings, they keep their mouth shut and stay out of mech business. She strongly suggested I gave up fighting and started focusing on paintings. And when the war started, she said just because the city was taken over by Decepticons doesn't mean I should act like a Decepticon. She told me I wasn't good enough for you." She said the last part so softly, and she sounded so sad. Soundwave sat speechless, staring at Astrolyte.

"I can't believe she said all of that. And I can't believe you listened to her. Astrolyte, you're a cage fighter, you're cocky, you like to party, and you're stubborn, and loud, and borderline psychotic. But it's who you are. You're reckless and care free. With you, every day is an adventure. You're not a stay at home femme that cleans and raises sparklings and sits quietly. You're everything I ever dreamed of in a femme. My carrier only said those things because she wanted me to change. She didn't like the mechs I hung out with, she didn't like me supporting Megatron. If things weren't exactly how she wanted them, she loathed them. " Soundwave explained.

Astrolyte smiled at him, "You think I'm only borderline psychotic? How sweet." That made Soundwave laugh, an actual laugh.

"Maybe on the outside, but on the inside I know you're a sweet femme that likes to be loved." Soundwave whispered as he pulled her over into his lap. Her faceplates heated up as her fans clicked on. She turned her helm up to Soundwave as his mask retracted and he kissed her. It started as a slow loving kiss, the intensity starting to pick up. Astrolyte turned to face him completely as they kissed, straddling his lap. Soundwaves fingers ghosting over her doorwings making them flutter excitedly. His hands drifted down to her waist where they rested as he started getting lost in the kiss.

"We should head back to earth before Megatron notices our absence." Soundwave mumbled into the kiss. Astrolyte ignored his words and started to kiss and bite at the cables on his neck. "Astrolyte. We need to go." Soundwave said threateningly as he moved Astrolyte off his lap. She started at him and he stared back. Her optics seemed different to Soundwave though as he observed. They looked empty of emotion. Feeling through their bond he discovered Astrolyte and put up a sort of barrier. Soundwave could faintly feel her emotions. She was lost and frustrated, trying to push away her negative emotions. In her mind Soundwave discovered a jumble of thoughts, none of them very coherent. What was going on with her? Her carrier did just offline...but shouldn't she be depressed? Mourning? Why is she acting this way?


End file.
